Monday, December 08, 2008

RAND Report: Mental Health Consumer Providers

"Consumer providers (CPs) are individuals with serious mental illness who are trained to use their experiences to provide recovery-oriented services and support to others. There are several demonstrated benefits to employing CPs: They can serve as role models, voice and broker the needs of consumers, provide information and motivation, and mentor others (including potential CPs). CPs can have a variety of roles, including, among other things, assisting clients, providing support services (such as skills assistance and transportation), providing liaison services, dispelling possible stigma or bias toward clients, and augmenting overburdened mental health systems. Despite these roles and benefits, there are also challenges to and misconceptions about employing CPs, such as staff concerns, organizational issues, and perceived barriers related to the abilities and competence of CPs. As mental health providers turn to CPs to augment current services, it is useful to review these issues through the lens of hiring and integrating CPs into provider teams." Source: RAND Corporation

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